US anti-abortion group to hold six week 'vigil' outside Royal Hallamshire Hospital following 'buffer zone' law
A US-based anti-abortion group will protest outside a Sheffield hospital for almost six weeks starting in March.
Christian organisation 40 Days For Life is planning to hold vigils outside the Royal Hallamshire Hospital’s sexual health centre, with their website stating members will be praying for 12 hours a day from March 5 until April 13.
It comes after a law passed in October 2024 bans anti-abortion activists from protesting within 150 metres of abortion clinics.
And, last week, a 74-year-old woman became the first person to be arrested under similar legislation in Scotland.
In Sheffield, protesters are set to hold their “vigil” on the junction of Upper Hanover Street and Glossop Road. The Yorkshire Post reports the group did not respond to requests for a comment.
Sheffield is one of 10 sites across the UK that the 40 Days For Life group has marked as part of its global campaign to protest against abortion, which includes hundreds of locations around the world.
The group was met by counter-protestors in 2024, when around 20 pro-choice demonstrators arrived outside the Hallamshire on March 8.
The group, which began in Texas, describes itself as “an internationally co-ordinated 40-day campaign that aims to end abortion locally through prayer and fasting, community outreach, and a peaceful all-day vigil in front of abortion businesses”.
Heidi Steward, CEO of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, said: “Safe access zones have been carefully designed to protect women's rights to access abortion care free from harassment.
“They are tightly targeted - ensuring that protest activity is moved away from the clinic gate without unduly limiting free speech or belief.
“Safe access zones are working well across the country to protect women. Anti-abortion groups have every right to gather outside the zones, and although we disagree with them, we have no intention of seeking to expand these restrictions.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “Protecting women’s rights is a priority for any government. It is vital anyone exercising their legal right to access abortion services is free from harassment and intimidation.
“The enforcement of safe access zones are an operational matter for the police and they will take the proportionate action they deem necessary.”
The development comes days after US Vice-President JD Vance criticised abortion buffer zones.
Speaking at a security conference in Munich, Donald Trump’s deputy said: “Just a few months ago the Scottish Government began distributing letters to citizens whose houses lay within so-called safe access zones, warning them that even private prayer within their own homes may amount to breaking the law.